I happened to pass through New Street today. The 'main entrance' from the Bull Ring direction certainly seemed to be the busiest at the time that I was there although I can believe that at different times of the day and week the proportion using any particular entrance will vary.
(The Metro and indeed the whole of Stephenson Place is all dug up at the moment so it's not a 'typical' time even without COVID.
One of my takes on the whole project is that compared to the 1960s station, which forced the great majority of users to approach by zig-zagging through the Palisades shopping centre, the whole set-up is far more passenger and interchange-led.
The new design basically took away a significant amount of city centre car parking (and associated traffic) and cut huge hole through the middle of the Palisades to allow the new transparent roof and greatly enlarged open concourse. There are far fewer shops within the whole complex than there used to be. There has also been a change of emphasis from shops to eateries as would be expected given changes in retailing over 50 years.
It is actually quite striking how
few shops one passes from the moment that you enter the station to the point at which you can reach the first barrier line that will enable you to reach your platform. So, for example, if you come down Lower Temple Street from the business district and enter from Stephenson Place you will pass Greggs on your right and then Boots on your right before reaching the first Red Lounge barrier line. That hardly seems excessive. If you bear left to go the the platforms via the Blue Lounge you've got a Body Shop instead of Boots, so still only two shops.
It's not like battling to Stratford through Westfield!
Yeah, Crewe's alright. I'm not entirely sure that two bridges and a subway (that doesn't seem to be on the station maps
) is exactly intuitive but it is fairly easy to move around the place.
The best feature of the subway and the (not quite) new un-staffed exit to the east side is that it gives easy access to the relatively new Greggs along the road, which helps to make up for the current dearth of cafes along the Nantwich Road. But you need to be able to cope with two barrier passes, of course.